IICRC / CleanFax Online
LAS VEGAS—May 13, 2021—The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recently published the newly-revised, ANSI-approved ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration (5th edition, 2021). This standard describes the procedures to be followed and the precautions to be taken when performing water damage restoration in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings, and the systems and personal property contained within those structures. The revised standard improves the organization and clarity of the information while addressing industry changes and the most up-to-date best practices for water damage jobs.
This Standard assumes that the determination and correction of the underlying source or cause of the water intrusion leading to the water damage is the responsibility of the property owner and not the restorer, although the property owner may contract with the restorer or other specialized experts to perform these services.
Water damage restoration consists of the following components for which procedures are described in this standard:
Principles of water damage restoration
Microbiology of water damage
Health effects from exposure to microbial contamination in water-damaged buildings
Building and material science
Psychrometry and drying technology
Equipment, instruments, and tools
Antimicrobial (biocide) technology
Safety and health
Administrative procedures, project documentation, and risk management
Inspections, preliminary determinations, and pre-restoration evaluations
Limitations, complexities, complications, and conflicts
Specialized experts
Structural restoration
Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) restoration
Contents evaluation, restoration, and remediation
Large or catastrophic restoration projects
Materials and assemblies
“I am confident the ANSI/IICRC S500: 2021 release will help many in the water damage restoration profession,” said Brandon Burton, IICRC Standards chairman. “The changes made were an effort to take an already well-established and respected standard one step further in clarity, while addressing many changes in our continuously growing and maturing industry. Although the changes made can be found in each section of the document, the greatest efforts were made to the organization and flow of the standard.”
Burton continued, “I’d like to express a significant amount of gratitude and appreciation to the IICRC S500 consensus body that performed this revision, and in particular to the consensus body chair, Chris Taylor. Members each volunteered more than 1,000 hours of their time to this revision effort.”
To purchase a copy of the revised ANSI/IICRC S500: 2021 and other standards, visit http://webstore.iicrc.org.
For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit IICRC